The Brightside: East Millsboro Alpha Club

MILLSBORO, Del. – East Millsboro Elementary School has started its very own Alpha Club, a first of it’s kind here in Sussex County.

A club that’s proving you can never be too young to make a difference in your community.

Third grader Drake Smandra, who also just so happens to be the club’s vice president says. “We’ve been making homeless bags for the community that way homeless people can live like kind of better.”

These elementary school kids are taking it upon themselves to help out the homeless in Sussex County by making go-bags.

Fifth grader Addison Ricker and Alpha Club President explains, “We’ve made bags we put deodorant, tissues, medical bags, water, toothbrushes, socks all in a bag and to give a little note in there a happy note and give it away to people.”

The Go-bags that are teaching them valuable lessons.

“I’ve watched these kids take on this service project and they can’t wait to pack more bags every time we meet they want to know are we packing bags,” says Wanda Williams, a East Millsboro Kindergarten teacher and the woman who started this club.

Since Alpha Club began back in February, these kids have already learned just how good it feels to lend a hand up to those in need, especially those in your own community.

Ariyana Gibbs says, “My favorite part is doing stuff to help our community and just trying to become like closer with our community and making it a better environment for people.”

Smandra adds, “It just makes me sad when you can imagine homeless people living on the sidewalk or the grass or something I can see how it feels and it’s so sad, so that’s why it’s my favorite part packing them homeless bags.”

And while the goal of this club is for kids to come together and do service projects in the community, they’re hoping it can help inside their classrooms too with bullying and kids dealing with trauma.

Williams says, “Keeping them busy with a service project I think will help in all of those areas, decrease the bullying help with trauma and teach these kids that we can do even a small thing like a go-bag and make a huge difference in our state, in our city, in our county and hopefully they’ll go places in the world and remember all of this.”